Toyota pushes case for hybrid car concessions

Toyota Australia has pointed to record sales for its petrol-electric models as proof hybrid cars should not be excluded from the federal government’s drive to reduce CO2 emissions and grow electric vehicle sales.

Hybrids were not considered for the recently mandated Electric Car Discount Bill that will deliver fringe benefit tax discounts for buyers of EVs and – until April 1, 2025 – plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

The time limit for PHEVs in the Electric Car Discount Bill is due to their CO2 emissions and was pushed by the independent Senator David Pocock and the Greens.

The federal government is now reviewing submissions to its new energy vehicle consultation process, which is expected to lead to EV incentives and the introduction of strict CO2 emissions standards that would eventually strangle the sale of new internal combustion-engined vehicles in Australia.

Along with many other firms and individuals, Toyota has made a submission to the process. Most are confidential.

Hybrids are presented in some submissions as part of an energy mix designed to reduce CO2 over time, while others push for a sharper transition to battery-electric vehicles and zero emissions.

See our previous report on this fundamental conflict within the auto industry’s future.

“We are acutely aware of the challenges, but Toyota is not limited to a single technical solution,” said Toyota Australia sales and marketing vice-president Sean Hanley.

“And we are urging government to please consider this within their findings and review of their emission targets.”

Toyota does not sell any EVs or PHEVs in Australia, but has been selling hybrids here for 22 years.

It will introduce its first EV, the 2023 Toyota bZ4X, in the second half of this year.

In 2022, hybrid sales across Toyota’s model range totalled 72,815, or 31.5 per cent of the brand’s 231,050 overall total.

Since the technology was first introduced with the original Toyota Prius, the company has sold 315,087 hybrids in Australia (to December 31, 2022).

It claims the emissions reductions achieved are equivalent to 95,000 EVs, an estimate based on calculations by Toyota Motor Company’s chief technology officer in 2021.

Asked if Toyota was concerned hybrids would not play a role in the government’s incentivised energy mix going forward, Hanley said the recommendations were yet to be finalised.

“The government consultation paper and submissions are still under review as we sit here today and there is still some work to go there,” he said.

“Are we concerned? The short answer to that is we will work with government and industry around these changes.

“But actually, the hard-core reality is this: 72,000-plus people decided to buy Toyota hybrids in the last 12 months; 7.6 per cent of the1.081 million market were hybrid vehicles total – not just Toyota.

“Three per cent were BEVs.”

“Hybrid technology right now is an affordable and practical solution to reduce fuel costs and tailpipe emissions today. And that’s the critical element – today.”

Australian new vehicle buyers have shown a strong interest in hybrids and an increasing interest in battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), while PHEV sales have been slow.

Toyota has copped criticism for being slow to embrace BEVs. Global boss Akio Toyoda has consistently expressed scepticism about the logic of embracing electric vehicles at the expense of other low and zero emissions technologies.

The company is conducting active research into hydrogen fuel-cell and hydrogen internal-combustion powertrains and is expected to expand its hybrid line-up to include diesel engines to support its popular line-up of heavy-duty SUVs.

“We say diverse technical solutions are the way to go,” said Hanley.

“Our position hasn’t altered,” he added. “To get to full BEV you need to have infrastructure and you need to have a lot of renewable energy to really play a significant role in reducing carbon.

“And we also know there is significantly different levels of access to infrastructure to support BEVs and other emerging zero and low tailpipe emissions options.

“So hybrid technology is an affordable and practical solution to reduce both fuel costs and tailpipe emissions.

“So right now we believe HEV, PHEV, fuel-cell electric vehicles and BEVs are exactly the right way to go to tackle the carbon issue in Australia.”